| The 2008 AFI Dallas full festival lineup showcased 119 features and 91 shorts for a total of 210 films from 34 countries. This year, the AFI Dallas Star Award, which is presented annually by the AFI Dallas International Film Festival to a select group of film artists in recognition of their unique contributions to cinema, was given to Helen Hunt, Jack Lemmon, Mickey Rooney, Todd Wagner (see MPM's Special Feature "Todd Wagner: Groovy Geek") and Charlize Theron. Rooney and Wagner were in attendance to accept their awards. Special From-the-Filmmaker articles:
Jason Wulfson, director of Tracing Cowboys, shares the surprising connections in the making of this story about a young Englishman intent on becoming a C&W star, who travels to Mexico in search of his girlfriend and discovers surprising connections to his hero, John Wayne.
Film holds its world premieres at AFI Dallas.
MPM reviews of AFI Dallas screenings:
• Battle in Seattle - screens as the AFI Dallas Closing Night Gala presentation (also see MPM's video interview with director Stuart Townsend and stars Andre Benjamin and Michelle Rodriquez.)
Starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Andre Benjamin and Michelle Rodriguez, the film features actor Stuart Townsend's directorial debut with an in-depth look at the five days that rocked the world in 1999 as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in protest of the World Trade Organization. Townsend, Theron and Harrelson will be in attendance for the Gala screening with Theron receiving her AFI Dallas Star Award as part of the evening's events.
• Blind - Dir: Tamar van den Dop (The Netherlands/Belgium/Bulgaria)
Starring: Joren Seldeslachts, Halina Reijn, Katelijne Verbeke
• Bowling for Soup - Live and Very Attractive World Premiere - Dir: King Hollis
• Captain Abu Raed - Dir: Amin Matalqa (Jordan)
Starring: Nadim Sawalha, Hussine Al-Souse, Udey Al-Qadise
• The Chair - Dir: Brett Sullivan
Starring: Alanna Chisolm, Lauren Roy, Nick Abraham, Paul Soren
• Cook County - Dir: David Pomes
Starring: Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole
• Crawford - Dir: David Modigliani (USA)
• El Camino - Dir: Erik S. Weigel
Starring: Leo Fitzpatrick, Christopher Denham, Elisabeth Moss, Wes Studi
• The Last Lullaby - Dir: Jeffrey Goodman
Starring: Tom Sizemore, Sasha Alexander, Ray McKinnon, Bill Smitrovich, Sprague Grayden
• My Brother Is an Only Child (Mio fratello è figlio unico) - Dir: Daniele Luchetti
Starring: Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Diane Fleri, Alba Rohrwacher, Angela Finocchiaro
• Operation Filmmaker - Dir: Nina Davenport
Starring: Muthana Mohmed, Liev Schreiber, Elijah Wood, Peter Saraf, Nina Davenport, The Rock
• Priceless - Dir: Pierre Salvadori (France)
Starring: Audrey Tatou, Gad Elmaleh
• Split - A Divided America - Dir: Kelly Nyks
Starring: Noam Chomsky, Robert Putnam, Norm Ornstein, Tucker Carlson, Al Franken, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jack Hitt
• Stop the Presses - The American Newspaper in Peril - Dir: Mark Birnbaum, Manny Mendoza
Starring: Ben Bradlee, Bob Kaiser, Marty Baron, Anders Gyllenhaal, Bill Bastone, Jim Brady, Paul C. Tash, David Carr, Ken Auletta
• What Just Happened? - Dir: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robert De Niro, Catherine Keener, Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn, Michael Wincott, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Stewart and Bruce Willis
Following the format introduced last year, the festival featured screenings with red carpet entrances at theaters throughout the city, award presentations, filmmaker panels, parties, and other special events celebrating film, culminating in an awards ceremony held at W Dallas-Victory Park Hotel on Sunday, April 6. "This is a festival in more than name," says Michael Cain, artistic director and CEO. "It really makes a festive splash all over the city."
Eight feature films made their world premieres at AFI Dallas 2008: Bowling for Soup - Live and Very Attractive, Fat Man Walking, Fissure, Frag, The Last Lullaby, Split: A Divided America, Stop the Presses - The American Newspaper in Peril and Tracing Cowboys. Four feature films made their U.S. premieres: Battle for Haditha, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, Iron Ladies of Liberia (full feature version) and Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake. |
